The present invention broadly relates to laparoscopic surgical instruments. More particularly, the invention relates to disposable laparoscopic clamps useful in a laparoscopy procedure which involves spreading, separating and dividing tissue (i.e., dissection).
The laparoscopy procedure has recently become a widely practiced surgical procedure. A laparoscopy procedure typically involves incising through the navel and through the abdominal wall for viewing and/or operating on the ovaries, uterus, gall bladder, bowels, appendix, although more recently, incisions and insertion of trocar tubes have been made in different areas of the abdomen and even in the chest cavity. Typically, trocars are utilized for creating the incisions. Trocar tubes are left in place in the abdominal wall so that laparoscopic surgical tools may be inserted through the tube. A camera or magnifying lens is often inserted through the largest diameter trocar tube (e.g. 10 mm diameter) which is generally located at the navel incision, while a cutter, dissector, or other surgical instrument is inserted through a similarly sized or smaller diameter trocar tube (e.g. 5 mm diameter) for purposes of manipulating and/or cutting the internal organ. Sometimes it is desirable to have several trocar tubes in place at once in order to receive several surgical instruments. In this manner, organ or tissue may be grasped with one surgical instrument, and simultaneously may be cut or stitched with another surgical instrument; all under view of the surgeon via the camera in place in the navel trocar tube.
Previous to the present invention, laparoscopic tools have utilized curved Kelly type clamps with dissectors having a curved distal portion which was necessarily of limited transverse length (i.e., the length perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the trocar tube) to permit its passage through a trocar tube. However, because of the limited transverse length of the dissector members, laparoscopic Kelly type clamps have found limited applicability, as they cannot readily reach otherwise inaccessible areas for dissection and/or clamping.